Environmental

Environmental

Overview

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is committed to promoting effective and efficient transportation systems that are environmentally sensitive and cost effective throughout the planning, designing, construction, and maintenance stages.

ITD is dedicated to identifying and addressing socio-economic issues as well as endorsing activities to restore, enhance, and sustain natural ecological systems and their functions, while continuing to meet transportation safety and services needs. The term “environment” includes the natural environment, the built environment, the cultural and social fabric of the community, and the quality of life of the people.

There are more than 40 federal and state environmental laws that affect transportation decisions. A unifying federal environmental law is the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which provides a framework for addressing the various environmental statutes, regulation and policies. NEPA is a procedural statute (40 CFR sec 1500) for decision-making during federal projects to assure analysis of social, economic and ecological impacts. ITD is required to provide a NEPA document for projects that are federally funded through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

NEPA Requirements

Study a reasonable range of alternatives based on “Purpose and Need”

Use a systematic, interdisciplinary approach while evaluating environmental factors during the planning process

Widespread interagency coordination, review, and consultation

Documentation of the environmental analysis process in plain language

Provide the public opportunity to participate and comment throughout the process

Environmental Factors

Air Quality impacts are evaluated for all Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) federally funded transportation projects to determine if the project will cause or contribute to a violation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards. ITD’s mission is to improve air quality by ensuring all ITD projects and operations comply with federal, state and local air quality laws and regulations, and by promoting strategies which reduce emissions of motor vehicle pollutants.

Cultural resource investigations involve documentation, interpretation, and preservation of prehistoric/historic archaeological sites, historic structures and traditional cultural properties that are evaluated as eligible for the National Historic Register. ITD’s policy is to either avoid adverse impacts to cultural resources or to minimize and mitigate the impacts for all projects requiring ground disturbance.

ITD is required by federal regulations in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966, to assess the historic resources prior to potential impacts related to transportation construction and maintenance activities.

Section 106 Review Requires:

Identification of historic properties that may be affected by the proposed transportation projects and resolves such conflicts

Preparing cultural resource analysis describing each cultural resource, its specific location and potential impacts to it from the project

Completing the “Determination of Significance and Effect” form (ITD-1502) with SHPO concurrence

Section 4(f) Evaluation Requires:

Analysis of impacts to cultural resources on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (historic sites, bridges, archaeological resources) and impacts to public parks, recreation areas, and, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, resulting from transportation projects

Identifying the resources being used by a project and examining alternatives to avoid that use

Rainbow Bridge, Smith Ferry, Idaho

Additional information and guidance concerning Cultural Resources Investigations can be found at the following links:

The Idaho Transportation Department must conduct hazardous materials investigations for any property ITD owns, manages, plans to sell, or plans to purchase. If hazardous materials are found to be present on ITD property, federal and state environmental laws requires ITD to cleanup and properly dispose of all hazardous materials regardless of whether the original source is from ITD activities, from a tenant, or inherited when property is acquired.

ITD seeks to identify hazardous materials early in the project development process through thorough investigations to reduce liability and to minimize delays. Advantages to this identification process include:

Minimizing potential dangers to ITD and other personnel

Protecting the environment from exposure to or spread of hazardous materials

Minimize design and construction costs due to potential project delay or termination

Reduce adverse publicity

Storage Tank – I-84 Connector Project

Abandoned Drums – Nampa, ID

HazMat Investigations are conducted in the following steps:

Administrative Review – (Required on all projects – ITD 652 Form)

Published lists are reviewed to determine if there are any documented HazMat sites, underground storage tanks or contaminated ground water in/near the project area

A windshield survey and interviews are performed

Selected resource agencies are contacted

If there is a potential impact, a Phase I or Phase 2 must be completed

Initial Site Assessment – (Phase I)

Determines whether there is a potential HazMat risk

Complete a Records Review of maps and historic documents to obtain information to help identify hazardous environmental conditions

Perform a Site Reconnaissance to inspect property and any structures on the project for recognized hazardous environmental conditions

Conduct Interviews with property owners or site managers to obtain information about possible hazardous environmental conditions that confirms information previously obtained or identifies new information

Preliminary Site Investigation – (Phase II)

Confirm whether HazMat is present and extent of contamination

Soil and water samples taken and analyzed

Reports written to discuss physical environment and its relationship to potential contamination, sampling techniques, analysis results, health and safety considerations, identification of any contamination if found, conclusions, and remediation strategy and costs

Detailed Site Investigation – (Phase III)

Conducted when existence of HazMat on the project site is confirmed

Includes the Site Investigation, Remedial Action Plan and remediation

Approximate clean up time can vary from 6 months to several years

Authorization of a Phase III investigation will be coordinated through the Headquarters Environmental Section Manager

The program examines highway impacts on species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and works with the Idaho Fish and Game, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and enhancing the state’s natural resources while operating, maintaining, and improving the state’s transportation system.

See also the ITD Environmental Process Manual, Section 1000
The Cooperative Agreement with ITD, FHWA and USFWS for Biological Evaluations/Assessments is found in the ITD Environmental Process Manual. Go to the end of the Table of Contents links for Section 300 and find Exhibit 300-6, Programmatic Agreement.

Wildlife Crossing Database is an innovative tool that identifies the proximity of wildlife safety hazards. This tool was honored as the 2009 recipient of the Exemplary Ecosystem and Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives presented by the Federal Highway Administration.

Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas that are saturated by surface or groundwater and supports vegetation adapted for life in saturated conditions. They provide important functions including groundwater recharge, erosion control, shoreline stabilization, and fish and wildlife food and habitat.

Two Categories of Wetlands:

Jurisdictional wetlands contain surface waters that have a connection to “Waters of the US”

Non-Jurisdictional wetlands do not have a connection to “Waters of the US”

ITD’s policy is to avoid any activities that adversely affect wetlands during the design, construction, and maintenance of transportation projects. Appropriate action is taken to minimize and mitigate impacts that cannot be avoided.

Section 404 Permit – Required for discharging, dredging, or placing fill material within “Waters of the US” including wetlands to prevent quality degradation and overall loss of wetlands. Administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Stormwater

Stormwater means stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, surface runoff and drainage. Stormwater runoff may pick up and transport sediment, oil, and other pollutants. If not managed properly these pollutants can affect the quality of surface waters making them unsafe for drinking, fishing, swimming, or other activities.

Clean Water Act (CWA)
In 1972, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity” of the Nation’s waters. The Clean Water Act (CWA) is a 1977 amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. The CWA set the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants to waters of the U.S.

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The NPDES permit program was introduced in 1972 and regulates discharges to “waters of the U.S.” Any discharge from a “point source” into a “waters of the U.S.” must have an NPDES permit. Stormwater discharges are regulated by NPDES permits. NPDES permits contains limits on allowed discharges, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure that discharges do not harm water quality or public health. See EPA website for additional information

Idaho Transportation Division of Highways (ITD) has coverage under three different types of NPDES permits, including:

Construction General Permit (CGP) – Construction activities that disturb greater than one acre of land and have the potential to discharge stormwater to a waters of the U.S.

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)- Stormwater drainage from roads or property that drain into stormwater conveyance systems owned by the state, a city, a town, a village, a public university, a public hospital, a military base, a correctional facility or other public entity that discharges to waters of the U.S.

Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)- Industrial activities that have the potential to discharge stormwater to a waters of the U.S., including sand and gravel mining. All EPA covered industrial activities are listed in Appendix D of the MSGP.

ITD projects with NPDES CGP coverage require an Inspector with current ITD Environmental Inspection Training and a Contractor representative inspector with current ITD approved Water Pollution Control Manager Training.

ITD Construction Stormwater Management Training

Course Length: 16 hours initial, 8 hours refresher
This course is the Stormwater Management training for Construction Engineers and their management and inspection staff, as well as maintenence staff. See upcoming training below.

ITD Designer Stormwater Training

Course Length: 16 hours
This course is the Stormwater Management training for Project Development, Design Engineers and their support staff.

Upcoming Training

ITD Stormwater Training

For people external to ITD contact Sue Sullivan at 208-334-8203

Water Pollution Control Management Training (WPCM)

Course Length: 16 Hour
ITD requires all Contractors to designate a Water Pollution Control Manager (WPCM). The WPCM must attend an ITD certified 16 hour stormwater management training course. This course has been developed to align with the new 2012 CGP. Offerings are now available at the following link.

To certify, complete the ITD Construction Stormwater Management Training course – or – the Idaho Association of General Contractors (AGC) Water Pollution Control Management Training course (see above). Those who complete the AGC course must also submit an Inspector Qualification Registration Form-2905, found in the ITD’s Contract Administration (CA) Manual, Section 114, and a copy of their WPCM course completion certificate to:

Contacts

The HQ Environmental staff is extensively involved in all environmental policy-making decisions, reviews all environmental documents, and provides the Districts with support, training, and expertise to address the wide variety of environmental concerns. Below are the specialists at ITD Headquarters who will help you with your questions regarding the transportation department’s Environmental Program.

The District staff has knowledge in a broad range of areas including environmental analysis, threatened and endangered species, traffic noise, air quality, stormwater, wetlands mitigation, and permitting. They work directly with local, state, and federal agencies, along with the public in avoiding or minimizing project impacts. The planners prepare and coordinate environmental documents in compliance with NEPA. Below are the Environmental specialists located at the six districts of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD).